1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to power plant tubes and, in particular, to a new and useful spacer for aligning a series of tubes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the power plant field, there are several known devices and methods which are used for clamping a series of boiler tubes. One known device uses two bar halves wherein each bar half comprises a plurality of recesses which are aligned and adjoined around a plurality of boiler tubes. The bar halves have aligned apertures for receiving a bolt, which is in turn, secured to a backing plate at one side of one of the bar halves.
A second known device uses bar halves which are a split ring casting having pins and holes. The pins of one bar half are fitted and aligned in the holes of a second bar half.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,372 to Polutnik, et al. also discloses a device for clamping tubes in parallel having two bar halves which are aligned and bolted to each other.
Presently, there is no known device or method for aligning and clamping a series of boiler tubes which is simple in design, rugged in construction and cost-efficient.